TV by the Decade :: February 18•24

Broadway Video

Only three decades produced new TV series this week, with at least one notable show making its debut in each of those decades. 1954 produced a classic sci-fi series with a serial-like structure, 1974 gave us a long running, still popular celebrity game show, and 2014 had several new shows but only one late night talk show has had any kind of longevity. Scroll down the list to check out the shows that debuted this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating!

1954

• February 23 – Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (Syndication, Two seasons, 39 episodes)

Thirty-six episodes of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger consisted of three ‘chapters’, with three being stand-alone episodes. Most of the three-chapter episodes were later re-edited into feature-length TV movies with many of the titles changed, the most well-known being ‘Crash of the Moons’. The creator of the series, Ronald D. Reed, also created the successful sitcom My Little Margie. A pilot for the series was filmed in early 1952 and screened on September 29, 1952. Several characters were recast after the screening and screenplays were prepared for the first 26 episodes, which began production in October 1953 and completed in April 1954. A merchandising blitz was launched ahead of the series premiere to drum up interest in the show. The Gordon Baking Company was the show’s largest sponsor. The series was plagued by off-screen drama. In February 1954, Scotty Beckett (Winky) was arrested for possessing a weapon after being implicated in an armed robbery at the Cavalier Hotel in Hollywood. After posting bail, he fled to Mexico where he encountered more problems for writing bad checks and more weapons charges. After a gun battle with local police, he was incarcerated for four months, and did not return to the United States until September 1954. By then, the character of Winky had been written out of the show, replaced by Biffen Cardoza (James Lydon). Maurice Cass, who played Professor Newton, died of a heart attack after completing the first 26 episodes. Thirteen additional episodes were ordered and the character was replaced with Professor Mayberry (Reginald Sheffield). Main villain Cleolanta was also replaced with Juliandra. No further episodes were ordered, most likely due to the high cost of the special effects, making the series unprofitable since it was syndicated rather than broadcast on a major network. All 39 episodes are available on YouTube.

1964

• No new series premiered this week in 1964.

1974

• February 18 – Tattletales (CBS, Four seasons, 1,075 episodes)

Tattletales was based on a previous Goodson-Todman game show, He Said, She Said, which aired during the 1969-1970 TV season. Bert Convy won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1977 for his hosting duties. Convy and his wife occasionally played the game with other celebrity guests with Gene Rayburn, Bob Barker, Bobby Van, Jack Narz and Richard Dawson filling in as host. The guest hosts also played the game at various times along with other game show hosts Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen and Chuck Woolery. The show’s format changed after four months, eliminating the longer ‘It happened at…’ or ‘A story involving…’ questions which were followed by a ‘Tattletale Quickie’. With the format change, only the ‘Quickie’ type of questions were asked but the name was dropped. The amount of money in the pot changed also with each question carrying a $150 amount which was shared among the players who got the answers right. Previously, a correct answer with a one-word clue earned $100, a two-word clue earned $50. Each ‘Quickie’ was worth $100. The audience was divided into three sections — red, blue and yellow (or the ‘banana section’) — with 100 audience members in each section sharing the pot of their winning celebrity couple, with $1000 added to the winning total. Winning audience members received checks as they left the studio. CBS moved the show from the afternoon to the morning and back several times during its run, ending on March 31, 1978. A weekly Syndicated version aired during the 1977-1978 TV season. CBS revived the show on January 18, 1982 and ended on June 1, 1984. All of the episodes exist, with episodes from the first run of the series airing on the BUZZR network. Episodes from the revival and nighttime versions are rarely aired. Versions of the series were produced in Australia (1980) and Brazil (1975-1986).

1984

• No new series premiered this week in 1984.

1994

• No new series premiered this week in 1994.

2004

• No new series premiered this week in 2004.

2014

True Jack Productions

• February 22 – About a Boy (NBC, Two seasons, 33 episodes, 6 unaired)
• February 23 – Growing Up Fisher (NBC, One season, 13 episodes)
• February 24 – Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC, Eleven seasons, 1,487 episodes to date)
• February 24 – Private Lives of Nashville Wives (TNT, One season, 8 episodes)
• February 24 – Ronan Farrow Daily (MSNBC, One season)
• February 24 – The Reid Report (MSNBC, One season)

About a Boy was the second TV series adaptation of the 1998 novel and 2002 theatrical film of the same name. NBC placed the series on hiatus after the 14th episode of the second season to make way for the return of The Voice, but cancelled the show without airing the last six episodes. Those episodes were made available to purchase on various streaming services.

Growing Up Fisher was developed under the working title …Then Came Elvis. David Schwimmer directed the pilot. Parker Posey was originally cast in the role of Joyce Fisher. NBC placed a series order in May 2013 with the new title The Family Guide. The title was changed again in June to Growing Up Fisher, and in July Posey was replaced with Jenna Elfman.

Late Night with Seth Meyers is the fourth iteration of the Late Night franchise which began with David Letterman. Meyers took over as host when Jimmy Fallon succeeded Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show. Meyers’ first guests were Amy Poehler and then Vice President Joe Biden. NBC has renewed Meyers’ contract through 2025. The show’s studio is one floor above that of The Tonight Show at 30 Rock, originally taping at 6:30 PM, 90 minutes after Tonight to prevent noise bleeding from the studio below. Following the return to production after the COVID-19 shutdown, the show now tapes at 4:00 PM. The studio is next to Studio 8H which houses Saturday Night Live. Fred Armisen leads the show’s house band. Following Jon Stewart’s departure from The Daily Show, Late Night began to focus on more political humor which Meyers said was always the intention. Since episodes are taped too early in the day to reflect newsworthy events later in the evening, live episodes have been broadcast following the final nights of the 2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the 2016 presidential election, the 2018 mid-term election, and the 2019 State of the Union address. The series has earned five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for writing, two for directing and two for Outstanding Talk Series.

After The Reid Report ended in February 2015 due to low ratings, Joy-Ann Reid then hosted AM Joy on weekends from 2016-2020, and then moved to the 7:00 PM time slot with The ReidOut in July 2020, making Reid cable TV’s first Black female primetime anchor.